A/N. JESTRY. MOOO.
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Chapter Eight
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Casualty
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Once he was out of sight of Rhyme, Joshua sat down on the nearest bench, gasping for breath. A miasma of pain was running though his body- one of the nasty aftereffects of being Composer and attacked by Noise. It tended to hurt. A lot. Absently, he wished he had a partner right about now.
Too tired to blast away the Frogs, Crows and Grizzlies that had been haunting him for a week now, he threw up a barrier as he withdrew from the world, shutting out the constant currant of emotions that kept him so sharp. Right now, all he wanted to do was forget.
But… that would the easy way out. For once, he wasn't going to take that path.
He had to be strong- for the sake of everyone involved. For the sake of the city he had once aimed to destroy.
For the sake of Rhyme.
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Masaki brushed her long red hair out of her face. "So, you're spending the summer here with your boyfriend, right? "
"Yes, that's right. " Rhyme noted, feeling a twinge of distress as the car drove on, past the low-budget apartment complex.
"Um... you just passed where I live. "
Masaki's smile turning into a blood-chilling smirk. "I know. "
Panic was creeping, tugging at the edges of Rhyme's mind. She reached for the door, only to have her body jerked backwards and held against the seat.
"Ah, ah, ah, you zetta sneak. You're not going anywhere. "
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With shaky resolve, Joshua pushed aside the blocking barrier. He needed his mind clear right now. Before the last few tendrils of the pain-killing shield were gone, he was acutely aware of only two things.
His pain and a horrible twisting sensation of impending doom.
Body suddenly rigid with shock, he focused his mind, picking up traces of malicious Taboo Grizzlys and Crows mingling with the Corehogs of panic, and the foreboding energy reminiscent of an Angel.
'No.'
Masaki and Sho had found him. Or, more importantly, they had found his weakness.
Rising to his feet on willpower alone, he slid neatly into his UG form, not needing to hide anymore as he half-teleported, half-ran following the path Sho and Masaki had taken. Noise shriveled and died before him, paving a path as Corehogs and Shrews of Hatred spawned in the emotions of his wake.
"To Shibuya, then, " he murmured out loud. "To make things right. "
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Rhyme struggled in Sho's grip like a mouse in the coils of a snake. There was a sharp crack, and a lightning bolt of agony ripped down the blonde woman's side, leaving her disoriented and without even enough breath to scream.
"Stop thrashing, you stupid sack of flesh and bone, " Masaki spat, completely transformed. The lights flying past outside the car were starting to make Rhyme nauseous.
"What... what have you done...? "
"My job, " the other female replied with icy distain. "How else could I bring the Composer back to Shibuya to die? "
Ice replaced the pain coursing through Rhyme's body- panic and shock sharpened her senses and cleared her mind like nothing else could. "Joshua? Why! Why are you doing this to him?! Let me go! "
"You certainly care a good deal about a factoring murderer, " Sho noted.
Another ripple of pain coursed through Rhyme's body- this one of guilt. I do care about him… Why? Why do I have to care so much about the man I didn't choose?
"How can you do this? " Rhyme gasped between bouts of agony. "How c-can you- " she convulsed as an artery was ripped open, gritting her teeth to stop from crying, "so carelessly kill people? "
Masaki's voice turned smooth as oil over ice as she replied. "Easy. Joshua- he deserves to die for his consorting with you. He broke laws of Composer-ship. "
She chuckled. "And as for you? You just got in my way. "
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What does Haru the cow say to when he's feeling down? "EMOOOOO."